I love Nathan Fillion. He’s charming in a geeky way, not to mention ruggedly handsome. He is the reason I started watching Castle but he’s only 1 of many reasons why I continue to watch. I have the first 3 seasons on DVD and the current season on pre-order and can tell you from the many many viewings that the show is getting better. The chemistry between the cast is fantastic. The give and take of the Castle/Beckett relationship is on a pretty realistic path. It’s everything you could want in a show- eye candy, mystery, murder, action, etc.

For those of you that skipped watching last night (get to Hulu- pronto!) I’ve recapped what happened last night in preparation for next week. The basic story is Beckett and Castle are recruited by a CIA agent Castle shadowed for a book. They are trying to stop a CIA agent from putting into motion a plan named Pandora which promises to use a critical flaw in US security to bring about the destruction of everything. The episode ends with Castle and Beckett being rear ended by an SUV into the water- their futures looking bleak. The detailed review is as follows.

The episode opens up on the view of a building. There is shouting and gun fire and a body flies through a window and lands on a car on the street below. In the window is the killer, Thomas Gage.

Flash to Castle in his kitchen cooking dinner for him and Alexis. Martha walks in and breaks the news that Alexis is at her new (and third!) internship. Of course, at the moment that Castle asks what internship she could have at 9pm his phone rings, Beckett and murder on the other end.

At the crime scene Castle vents to Beckett. Beckett reassures him that Alexis will be fine and even suggests that this may be the internship that brings the father and daughter together. After viewing the body and discovering that it had 5 (that’s right, 5!) possible causes of death including gun shot, pencil in the neck and strangling, Castle discovers that Alexis’ new internship is with Medical Examiner Lanie. Castle is obviously territorial about his position and tries to show concern about Alexis seeing dead bodies but Alexis brushes him off. Castle immediately confronts Beckett about her knowing about Alexis’ internship and voices his real concern- Alexis’ being there may change the dynamic of his partnership with Beckett and the 12th Precinct. While this conversation is happening, the duo follow a blood trail and discover that the killer was caught on tape forcing a kidnapped oman into a taxi. The squad jumps into action and bursts into the kidnap victim’s apartment where they find Gage eating a sandwich, waiting for the police to catch him.

At the precinct, Beckett and Castle question Thomas Gage. He is not very forthcoming with any information and simply states, “everything you have on me – or think you have- it’s all going away”. The duo are obviously confused by this and talk to the kidnap victim. She claims that Gage stated that he shot the other man and said, “the man doesn’t exist”. These words are echoed a few moments later when Beckett and Castle head to the morgue to find out more about the body. Lanie was expecting the man to have a record due to old gun shot wounds and obvious martial arts training but was not in any database. When the group walks into the room they are stunned to find that the man no longer exists- his body has been taken from the morgue. They go to Gage’s cell to find out what he knows and find that he is missing as well! <insert commercial break>